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Irene McKinney
Irene McKinney (April 20, 1939 - February 4, 2012) was an American poet and editor, who served as poet laureate of West Virginia. Life McKinney was born in Belington, West Virgina. 1 of 6 children, she grew up in Barbour co., West Virginia, on a 300-acre farm that had been in her family for generations. She attended a 1-room school, Concord School, for grades 1 through 5. McKinney recalls that her 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Teeter, recognized and encouraged her by giving her a double promotion from 2nd to 4th grade. She earned a B.A. in English Literature at West Virginia Wesleyan College, an M.A. at West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Utah. She was a protégé of and editor for Louise McNeill; a relationship which helped form her commitment to regionalism in writing — McKinney's poetry is steeped in the rural Appalachian landscape and frequently explores the connections between people and place. McKinney was proud of her West Virginia rural heritage. She shows the depth of her value for her home state in this quote: "When people say this state is backward, I simply am astounded. I had access to a farm community, a small peaceful town and school and good, dedicated teachers. I was in nature and in literature — a perfect combination for a writer". She died of cancer at the family home in Barbour co., aged 72. Recognition McKinney received fellowships, grants, and residencies from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, the MacDowell Colony, the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, the Utah Arts Council, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. She won the Cincinnati Review Annual Poetry Prize. In 1994 she was appointed poet laureate of West Virginia, a position she held until her death. Publications Poetry *''The Girl With the Stone in Her Lap''. Plainfield, NY: North Atlantic Books, 1976. *''Waking''. Binghampton, NY: Bellevue Press, 1976. *''The Wasps at the Blue Hexagons''. Small Plot Press, 1984. *''Quick Fire and Slow Fire''. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1988. *''Six O'Clock Mine Report''. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1989; Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University Press, 1989. *''Vivid Companion''. Morgantown, WV: Vandalia Press, 2004; West Virginia Univesity Press, 2012. *''Unthinkable: Selected poems, 1976-2004''. Los Angeles, CA: Red Hen Press, 2009. *''Have you Had Enough Darkness Yet?. Buckhannon, WV: West Virginia Wesleyan College Press, 2013. Edited *''Backcountry: Contemporary Writing in West Virginia. Morgantown, WV: Vandalia Press, 2002. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Irene McKinney, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 21, 2018. See also * List of U.S. poets References Notes External links ;Poems *Irene McKinney 1939-2012 at the Poetry Foundation ;Books *Irene McKinney at Amazon.com Category:1939 births Category:2012 deaths Category:20th-century women writers Category:21st-century women writers Category:American editors Category:American poets Category:Cancer deaths in West Virginia Category:People from Barbour County, West Virginia Category:Poets Laureate of West Virginia Category:University of Utah alumni Category:University of Utah faculty Category:West Virginia University alumni Category:West Virginia Wesleyan College alumni Category:Women poets Category:Writers from West Virginia